barrage naga hammadi - VINCI Construction Grands Projets

NAGA
HAMMADI
BARRAGE
Harnessing the forces of the Nile for the coming century
grands projets

The players behind the project
The Clients: The Naga Hammadi barrage was commissioned
by the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Ministry of Water
Resources and Irrigation, and Ministry of Electricity and
Energy, advised by a group of consultants comprising
Lahmeyer International (Germany), Electrowatt (Switzerland)
and Sogreah (France).
Funding was provided by the Egyptian government, with
financing by the European Investment Bank and the
German Entwicklungsbank, KfW.
The Contractors: VINCI Construction Grands Projets
(leader), Bilfinger Berger and Orascom Construction Industries,
acting in Joint-Venture, were awarded the civil
works contract.
VINCI Construction Grands Projets
(France) designs and builds major civil
engineering structures and buildings
throughout the world. The company
combines its engineering and project
management expertise with the
proactive creation of local partnerships
when deploying solutions for its public
and private-sector clients.
Bilfinger Berger (Germany) is
a leading international construction
and service company. As a Multi Service
Group, Bilfinger Berger delivers
comprehensive solutions in the areas
of real estate, infrastructure and industrial
services. Its business activities range
from consulting, development, design,
financing and turnkey construction
through to operation and maintenance.
Orascom Construction Industries
(Egypt) provides engineering,
procurement and construction services
on large-scale infrastructure, industrial
and commercial projects principally
across the Middle East, North Africa
and Central Asia. OCI is a leader
in the regional construction market.

A multi-purpose structure
Irrigation: the new dam (3.5 km downstream from
the original dam) was designed to increase the existing
irrigation system, a task for which rehabilitation of the
previous 80-year-old structure was deemed insufficient.
By raising the level of the Nile upstream by approximately
one meter, the new barrage irrigates 60,000 additional
hectares for agriculture land.
Regulation of the Nile: the new Naga Hammadi
barrage will manage regular seasonal variations in the
river’s level, as well as cope with the maximum
emergency output if the Aswan dam were to be opened
upstream (7,000 m 3 /second).
Electricity production: four turbines with total output
of 64 MW enough to power 200,000 Egyptian households
with environmentally friendly, renewable energy.
Increased shipping capacity: two high capacity
navigation locks accommodate even the largest Nile
cruise ships, carrying visitors to Luxor and the other sites
of Upper Egypt.
7,000 m 3 /second
maximum flow capacity
200,000
households powered
with clean hydroelectric energy
60,000 ha
of additional agricultural land
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A force for regional
development
CAIRO
LUXOR
Naga hammadi
ASWAN
The Nile river valley is Egypt’s breadbasket and home
to 97% of the country’s population, although the site
chosen for construction of the new barrage is itself very
isolated. Naga Hammadi lies in Upper Egypt, about midway
between Aswan, upstream to the South, and Cairo,
some 500 km distant to the Nile river delta.
The Naga Hammadi Barrage has major regional impact
by increasing land available for cultivation, providing
clean energy and improving floodwater regulation.
The Egyptian Clients also wanted the project itself to contribute
to local added value and economic development.
The Joint-Venture partners worked closely with local
staff and labourers to ensure positive impact on the
natural and economic environment of the region. An
awareness campaign directed by the Ministry of Water
Resources and Irrigation towards the local population
provided information about the many benefits to be
provided by the new dam.
Workers from the local sugar cane farming operations
were trained as the main source of manpower
for the project, which employed close to 2,000 workers
during peak phases, most coming from the surrounding
villages. A dedicated transport service by bus and boat
brought workers to the construction site.
Land which was temporarily reclaimed for construction
of the diversion canal and other project elements was
renaturalized before restoration to farmers.
Certain specific activities have been sub-contracted
to local companies such as Arab Contractors (dredging
and riverbed protection), Bauer Egypt (diaphragm walls),
Bekheet and Awad (earthworks), Rowad (steel reinforcement)
and Harb (Electromechanical).
Specific design and operating measures were implemented
to protect groundwater quality and prevent Nile
River from soil pollution.
2,500
local jobs created

Strong technical expertise and complex logistics
The Clients awarded contracts in packages corresponding
to the technical expertise required for the various
facets of the dam’s construction:
Diversion canal and cofferdam,
Civil engineering for the barrage structures,
Hydromechanical and electrical equipment,
Permanent housing and operation services building.
The civil works Joint-Venture comprising VINCI
Construction Grands Projets / Bilfinger Berger / Orascom
Construction Industries handled all these works except
equipment.
Cofferdam: a 1,650 m circular cofferdam reinforced
with diaphragm walls of plastic concrete to a depth of up
to 59 m was designed to withstand any tensions resulting
from drainage, excavation and construction, without
loss of waterproof properties.
Barrage structures: the 336 m length dam includes:
- the sluiceway with seven bays, each 17 m in width,
- dual 17 m x 160 m navigation locks,
- the hydroelectric plant housing four turbines and
generators.
The Joint-Venture delivered multiple structures on a
tight deadline.
Diversion canal: full diversion of the Nile river is a
procedure only used once before, during construction
of the Aswan dam. 3.1 million m 3 of earth were removed
through dry excavation and dredging of the right
bank. The canal bed was reinforced with 300,000 m 2 of
geotextile and a 200,000 m 3 stone layer, to withstand
erosion even under strong current.
NAGA HAMMADI - 5

Construction
phases
1. Diversion canal
(June 2002 – Dec. 2003)
Situation with cofferdam and sealing element
Measuring 1.1 km in
length, 10 m deep with a
minimum navigable width of
100 m, the canal served to
divert the Nile in full for the
duration of the project with no
disruption in fluvial transport.
Shipping was transferred to
the canal in October 2003.
After finishing structures within the pit
6.6
million m 3 of earth removed
Final stage

Cofferdam
Construction pit
Diversion canal
2. Cofferdam and
construction pit
(Nov. 2003 – Nov. 2004)
Cofferdam reinforced with excavation
of the plastic concrete cut-off walls created
a construction pit on the bed of the Nile.
Measuring 240,000 m 2 and 1,815 m in
circumference, the pit was fully drained
including lowering of ground water levels,
to prepare the riverbed surface for the
next phase.
NAGA HAMMADI - 7

Construction
phases
3. Concrete
structures
(Dec. 2004 – Oct. 2006)
The main concrete
structures were completed on a
tight deadline, 18 months from
start to finish. Meeting this
schedule required proactive
team management and careful
logistical planning, to achieve a
high daily cadence of 1,000 m 3 .
400,000
m 3 of concrete poured

4. Impounding
(Oct. 2006)
The construction pit was refilled following completion
of the barrage, using pumps for a controlled impounding
to avoid erosion of the cofferdam walls before their
removal. Once the new locks were opened to navigation
(February 2007), backfill of the diversion canal and
construction of service buildings completed the project,
on schedule in May 2008.
NAGA HAMMADI - 9

Specific
characteristics
The Joint-Venture successfully
negotiated the multiple strategic
and technical challenges imposed
by the nature of the project and the
requirements of the Clients.
Extremely tight calendar:
63 key dates over 2 years imposed
by the Clients to ensure coordination
of the project lots.
Rapid pace of concrete work:
25,000 m 3 of concrete in average
per month, during the 8 months
peak period.
Construction of the barrage
in a single piece on the riverbed,
without disruption to Nile
shipping.
High density of reinforcement
steel: 48,000 tons required for a
confined space necessitated expert
engineering.
Curved geometry, in particular of
the powerhouse inflow and outflow
structures, required complex and
technically challenging formwork
(265,000 m 2 of formwork in all).

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Specific
characteristics
Significant engineering design
modifications introduced by the
Consultant after start of construction,
requiring the rapid implementation of
additional equipment and manpower.
Environmental protection:
measures to maintain groundwater
quality, renaturalization of farmland,
etc.
Regional added value: local
manpower used for the bulk of the
work, requiring specific, intensive
training programmes. Small
management teams from Cairo, local
staff and labourers.
Logistics: transport of materials to
the site’s remote location took
several days.
Weather conditions: temperatures
more than 40°C during the summer
months required the use of a special
cooling system and ice flake to
maintain the concrete at a
temperature not exceeding 25°C.

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grands projets
08/09 - 2000 copies - Photos: Cyrille Dupont, Thierry Duvivier/Trilogi’c, Francis Vigouroux, photo libraries of VINCI
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